


Feel The Earth Underneath (Snatch A Star)

by 1Temmie_Official1



Series: Northern Downpour Sends Its Love [14]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Azula Needs a Hug (Avatar), Badass Azula (Avatar), Badass Toph Beifong, Blind Character, Earthbending & Earthbenders, F/F, Firebending & Firebenders, Gen, Humor, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Lesbian Azula (Avatar), Lesbian Toph Beifong, Lightningbending & Lightningbenders (Avatar), Mental Health Issues, Mentioned Ozai (Avatar), Minor Azula/Toph Beifong (Avatar), Nonbinary Azula (Avatar), Nonbinary Toph Beifong, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Panic Attacks, Pro-Bending (Avatar), Sparring, Toph Beifong Swears, Tournaments, Trans Azula (Avatar), Useless Lesbian Azula (Avatar), Waterbending & Waterbenders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 09:08:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29822631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1Temmie_Official1/pseuds/1Temmie_Official1
Summary: "Are you blind?" Azula asked sarcastically.The kid frowned. "Uh, yeah actually."//Or Azula joins an underground fighting ring.(Read the tags + beginning notes. Most of the fic isn't angsty I swear)
Relationships: Azula & Toph Beifong
Series: Northern Downpour Sends Its Love [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1957609
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	Feel The Earth Underneath (Snatch A Star)

**Author's Note:**

> na-na-nana off she goes (Title from Off She Goes by Bad Suns)
> 
> Hey guys there's a section where Azula has a panic attack, starts at **She felt wrong.** and ends at **And she would tear the world apart before she went back to Ozai.**
> 
> There are also discussions of the Beifong's A+ parenting skills (/s), as well as references to Ozai's A+ parenting (/s).

Gaoling was a bore. It was just fancy people doing fancy things that Azula didn't have the time for. The only reason she stayed was that the word on the street was that there was a bending tournament somewhere. A tournament with a large prize. And Azula needed that money to get to Ba Sing Se.

It was almost nighttime in the city, half of the sky was lit in the light of the nearly-set sun with the other half in darkness. The only nice thing about a fancy city was that there were lanterns lit in the streets. She spotted someone in an alleyway. A hulking figure dressed in a fighting outfit.

She waved down the large man, he was clearly trying not to be seen, which meant that wherever he was going had what she needed. There was a bending tournament somewhere, and he was her ticket in. "You! Tell me where you're going." She commanded. The man was surprised, but he clearly thought he could take her on. His mistake.

The man crossed his arms. "What are you gonna do?" In the blink of an eye, she grabbed the collar of his shirt in a vice-like grip with one hand and positioned the other hand, extending two fingers shot with hot flames near his chest. 

"Tell me where you're going or I'll shoot you full of lightning." Azula leaned in closer, her fingers sparking dangerously. She could see a bead of sweat roll down his forehead. Gross.

"I- I'm going to the bending tournament." She jabbed her fingers closer to his face. "It's right this way." He gestured with one arm. She released his shirt and shoved him away.

"Take me there." She smiled viciously. "You're going to have some competition." She revelled in his nervous look. Azula was going to wholly enjoy kicking his ass.

-

The place was something interesting. There was a large rectangle ring slightly raised on the floor. There were lanterns on each corner of the rectangle. Above them were seats made of rock arranged in a colosseum-esque structure. People were all talking around the ring, no one inside it save for one person, presumably the person running this show.

Azula looked across the room. Lots of people from many backgrounds, mainly earthbenders. Azula saw a few firebenders, all three (that she could see, at least) of them identified by red armbands. She grabbed one herself. To her surprise, there was a waterbender, but they didn't look like they were from the poles. The biggest shock was that there was a kid there, around Azula's age, a bit younger maybe. She frowned. Why would someone that young be here? Not that Azula could complain. Still, she could wonder.

The kid spat at the ground, cutting off the conversation. "Shut the fuck up, dunderheads. You!" The kid pointed at her, slightly off in their aim. "Who are you?"

Azula lit a flame, strong and blue. The people around her backed up. _Good_ she thought victoriously. "You don't need to know that." She spat.

The kid scratched at their nose, not even looking at her blue flames. "Yeah, yeah, fancy flames. I don't care."

"Are you blind?" Azula asked sarcastically.

The kid frowned. "Uh, yeah actually. Blind Bandit and all that." They waved their hand in front of their unseeing eyes. Oh. "What's so special about you?"

"Blue flames, not that you can see it." Azula gloated.

The Blind Bandit shrugged. "Eh, you've seen nothing once, you've seen it a thousand times." The Blind Bandit was spunky, cocky but with the power to back it. A nice change of pace.

Azula smiled. "I think we'll get along." The Blind Bandit smiled all teeth.

There were gulps from the crowd.

-

The host was making a speech, detailing all of the rules. "No unnecessary violence, no murder. We don't need the cops in here." There were grumbles of agreement. "Speaking of cops, if anyone rats us out..." He smirked. "Well let's just say it won't be pleasant. 'Only way to win is if you knock the other guy out of the ring." He opened his arms, backing out of the ring. "Who dares go first."

Azula stepped up. "I do." Let's see how well these idiots could hold up against her.

Azula stood in the ring and an earthbender, someone in an honestly insulting Fire Nation costume, stepped up to challenge her. Oh, this was going to be too easy. "First, let me begin Fire Nation national anthem!" Oh even as a kid Azula hated the anthem, especially now. " _Fire Loooord, my flame burns for theeee-_ " Several rocks were chucked him. Azula was tempted to join them.

"Fire Lord can't save you now." Azula jeered just to revel in the look on his face. What was even more gratifying was that he wasn't able to respond as the countdown began.

"3, 2, 1, fight!" Fire Nation Man went to earthbend at her, but Azula darted forward, punched him in the solar plexus, and kicked him in the chest. He stumbled back and fell out of the ring.

"Too easy," Azula said, sighing. She knew it wasn't going to be a challenge, but he could have at least put up _some_ fight.

She caught the eye of the Blind Bandit. Well, it was difficult to say 'caught the eye of' because of how the Blind Bandit was, ya know, _blind_. Azula hoped that they were looking at her, in their own way. Ugh. Mental word vomit.

Azula didn't have time to dwell on that as another opponent stepped into the ring.

-

This was getting honestly quite boring. So far only the newbies were taking their shots at her. The bending veterans were probably taking their time in the hopes that Azula would be worn out by the time it was their turn to take a shot at her. Azula hadn't even started bending yet.

Someone called "the Big Bad Hippo" stepped into the ring.

Azula smiled. This would be fun.

"3, 2, 1, fight!"

She took a large rock from the ground and threw it up at the Hippo. He caught it and-

... what the fuck? _What the actual fuck?_

"What the fuck." She whispered. The Hippo _chewed the rock_ and spat it out. He earthbent up a rock, aiming it at her. She dodged at the last second as the earth exploded at her feet. She rolled out of the way. Fuck, she needed a plan.

She just needed a second to pause and think, but unfortunately, the Hippo was _really good_ at not thinking and just throwing rocks at people.

This was slightly more difficult than she had anticipated, but Azula was known for her quick-wittedness, and she already knew how she could defeat him. He was already gaining area, she would have to act quickly. She moved to the side where the rectangle was narrow. He was close enough to the edge for her plan to work. This better fucking pay off.

She shot some regular, red blasts of fire at him, knowing he would think her weak, that would make him cocky. That would be his mistake. "Ha! You think that hurt Hippo?" He gloated, beating his chest in pride.

Azula smiled, a wild glint in her eyes. "No, but this will." She shot a powerful blast of blue fire at his chest. No one could stand that, not even her, and he reeled back. Without a moment to spare, Azula circled her arms. She felt the electricity forming, shocks of blue lightning surrounding her fingertips. He was off-balance.

She shot the lightning at his feet, the floor exploding in sparks and earth and flame. The Hippo fell out of the ring. She was victorious.

The audience was quiet. The other benders broke out in whispers, at least she thinks. She hated whispers, but she hopes that these whispers were from the benders and not the voices in her head. If they even were in her head.

Xin Fu, she had learned the host's name was, blew a whistle. "Intermission!"

Azula walked. She leaned against the wall of the arena. They all hated her, she knew it. She just wondered if she would be able to take them all on at once, she was a powerful person, yes, but unlike the theatre plays Zuko used to love, one very skilled warrior would be useless against a mob. Basic strategy.

The Blind Bandit walked up to her. "So, what was that?" They asked. Oh yeah, they couldn't see.

"Lightning," Azula said, deadpan. The Blind Bandit's eyebrows raised.

"No kidding?" The Blind Bandit snapped. "Zappy! That's what I'm calling you now."

Azula raised an eyebrow. "Do I get any say in this?"

"Nope!" They popped the p. They crossed their arms, unintentionally mirroring Azula's pose. "Intermission is code for 'what the fuck what the fuck we need to process this'." The Blind Bandit mimicked Xin Fu in a whiny, high-pitched voice. Azula snorted. "I assume that most firebenders can't bend lightning?"

Azula paused. "No. I'm pretty sure it's just me. There might be others, I wouldn't know." Azula ignored how Ozai could bend lightning. Azula didn't like thinking about Ozai. He was probably furious. He would kill her. Oh Agni he was going—

"Your heartbeat's going crazy." They commented offhandedly. Before Azula could dwell on how exactly they could know about Azula's beating heart, they snapped. "Okay, Zappy, I'll ask a question, you answer. Then you ask a question, I answer. A get-to-know-you game."

Azula raised an eyebrow suspiciously. They wouldn't let a child fight, much less be in here without good reason. Azula would much rather avoid finding out that good reason. "And what if I don't want to answer."

The Blind Bandit shrugged. "No consequences."-At this, Azula's eyes narrowed the slightest bit; 'no strings attached' was rarely ever true.-"Okay... why are you here?"

Azula hummed. "Need the money, I won't be staying here for long. Why are you here?" They asked, an echo of the Blind Bandit's tone.

The Blind Bandit frowned. "I enjoy the fight. It's where my blindness doesn't mean anything."

Azula tilted her head. "How _are_ you able to do that anyway?"

The Blind Bandit hm'd. "Well, when something hits the earth, it makes a vibration. I've gotten really good at using my earthbending to feel those vibrations. It doesn't just work one way either, it kinda goes through everything, and I'm able to get a size and shape of objects- it's how I could tell your heart was beating so fast. That's why I don't wear shoes." They stuck up a foot in the air. Azula blinked. They were, in fact, not wearing any shoes. As if this couldn't get weirder, they continued. "I learned that from badgermoles."

"Cool," Azula commented, stunned.

"Okay, my turn. How the fuck are you able to shoot lightning?" They were excited.

Azula blushed slightly. "Well, it's kind of complicated. There's energy in the air all around us, positive and negative. To shoot lightning, I separate them and make an imbalance. The energy wants balance so I release it, and that makes lightning."

The Blind Bandit blinked. "Wow. That makes, like, zero sense."

Azula sniffed dismissively. "Well of course you wouldn't get it. My turn, what's your name?"

The Blind Bandit made an attempt to roll their eyes. It almost worked. This was a feat because Azula was previously not aware that blind people could roll their eyes. The Blind Bandit was a conundrum anyway, though, this wasn't a stretch. "I use they and them for pronouns, if you use she or her I will launch you into a volcano. For my name, well, I don't tell people that." They finished. Azula was using they and them in her head anyway, Azula wasn't able to figure out the Blind Bandit's gender in the first place, not that it mattered. Azula deflated at not knowing the Blind Bandit's name. "But." They interrupted Azula's river of thought. "I'll make an exception for you."

Azula blushed again. "You don't have to."

They shrugged. "I want to." They motioned for Azula to come closer. There was an awkward moment when they attempted to cup their hands around Azula's ear so the others couldn't hear. Azula was very thankful that the Blind Bandit couldn't see their red face. "Toph." They whispered. It felt very fitting.

"Toph." The word rolled around in Azula's mouth like hard candy- so sweet Azula wanted to keep its taste in her mouth. It slid into place with their personality, fitting them like a tailored suit. Strange.

They smiled. "That's my name, don't wear it out. You aren't getting my last name, though." Azula didn't comment on how she didn't know what a 'last name' was.

"You have a nice name. Mine's Azula, your turn for a question." Azula was enjoying this game. Xin Fu didn't show any trace of appearing soon, it felt nice just to have the time to _talk_. Toph considered their next question.

"Why was your heart so fast before? You don't have to answer this one." Toph said. Ah. Ozai. Azula's least favourite topic.

Azula frowned. "It's... O- my father." Toph didn't need to know she was heir to the throne.

Toph raised an eyebrow. "You miss him or something?" Their tone was strange. Almost bitter.

Azula shook her head immediately. "No. I hate him." The words were freeing to say. It felt light. It was the truth, but she could already feel doubt creeping in. "I think. I don't like him very much, I don't want him to find me. That's why I need this money."

Toph was quiet. "I get it. My parents... suck."

"Pretty sure mine suck more," Azula said but left room for Toph to continue speaking.

"They think that I'm just some _weak_ little blind girl. But I'm not, I love fighting. I love getting to express myself. I love doing this!" They gestured to all around them. Azula could see why. Despite being opponents, they weren't enemies. It was almost a community. Another community Azula wasn't a part of. "They wouldn't understand me. They don't let me do anything, they don't want _me_ , they want a doll." Toph finished bitterly. Azula felt like she understood what Toph was talking about. It was a horrible thing to be unaccepted.

"My father doesn't want me, he wants utter perfection. I don't think utter perfection would satisfy him." Azula agreed. "I don't think that's why I left though," Azula confessed. "Ever since my brother died"- Azula didn't comment how Ozai was the one to kill Zuko-"he's been even worse. He's always comparing me to him. I don't want to be like my brother. I don't want to be his perfect child." Azula spat. Toph punched Azula in the arm. It wasn't malicious. "What was that for?" She asked.

"It's how I show affection." Toph smiled.

Before Azula could answer, Xin Fu yelled out to the benders and crowd. "This concludes day one of the tournament!" There was a mixed response, some grumbles and some sighs of relief.

Toph punched Azula's shoulder once more. "I'll see you 'round, Zappy."

Azula rolled her eyes. "Since you can't see, I should tell you that I'm rolling my eyes. I'll see you around as well, Blind Bandit."

"Better fuckin' hope so." Toph grinned.

"Shut up." Azula blushed.

-

Azula spent some of her money on an inn for the night. It was cold, uncomfortable, and Azula felt as miserable as the wet ground beneath her feet. Why did it always rain when she used lightning? She didn't know, she didn't care. She didn't care.

(Maybe she could convince herself of the lie just like all the others.)

**She felt wrong.**

She wasn't worth this, no she needed to be better. She needed to be the best. That meant forsaking Toph- the Blind Bandit. The Blind Bandit. That's what they had to be. Azula almost did it. She almost decided to become what her mother thought her as- a loner. Someone who was meant to be alone. Strong enough to survive. Mother was always right. Azula was a monster. A buzzed-up lightning freak. A bully. Something not worth speaking to, because it only wasted your breath. Caught up in her own shit, head so far up in the clouds that she couldn't see the people she stepped on. 

Disgusting. A _disappointment_.

No.

Azula shook the thoughts from her head. There was no one in the room but her. There was someone watching her from behind. She turned around. There was no one there. She turned again. Someone was there. It was Ozai. He was watching her. He found her. She backed into a corner, pressing the heels of her palms into her shut eyes. She was safe, she was safe.

She slid down the wall, Ozai wasn't there, he wasn't there.

This was fine. She was fine.

She tried to focus on the kaleidoscope patterns in the blackness of her closed eyes if just to see anything but Ozai's disappointment. She felt like someone was behind her.

_Stupid. A failure. Worthless. Worth less._

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Azula whispered. Why wouldn't they stop! Just fucking shut up!

_Why would you abandon me?_ a voice asked. _Just like your mother._ Said another.

Azula exhaled sharply. She was fine. This was fine.

She didn't realize she was rocking back and forth. Azula opened her eyes, her hands gripping into her knees like they were the only thing keeping her grounded. She was okay. She was okay.

She saw the bed. The blankets. Her knees. Her hands. Her bag. The walls.

She heard the pattering of the rain. Her breathing. She heard her heartbeat that seemed to be coming from the floor. Talking.

She felt her hands on her knees. She felt tired. She felt burnt out.

She felt just a smidgen better. There was a weight released, but it was outweighed by everything else. The voices were still there. Azula was so tired. She dragged herself off the floor. Her head felt light, but Azula supposed that was from the general lack of hair. Azula pulled it off, she always did, but it felt... odd, freeing in a way. She ignored her dead brother watching her, she could deal with it in the morning.

Maybe she could be friendlier. Isolation obviously wasn't doing well for her.

Azula crawled into bed. She dragged the scratchy blankets over herself.

The moment her head hit the cheap pillow, she could tell she had a heart.

**And she would tear the world apart before she went back to Ozai.**

-

Azula was not looking forward to having to spend the majority of the day just doing nothing. At least on her ship, she had something to occupy herself with. Being alone, though there was freedom, it was also an absolute chore to figure out what to do in a day. Which also meant she had to deal with her... brain with no distractions besides the ones she could come up with herself. Stupid voices. How were other people able to function with them always whispering? It wasn't a good day for her psyche either, they all just wouldn't _shut up_. At least Zuko wasn't so annoying today.

The last thing they expected to see was Toph. 

In a hanbok, nonetheless.

Azula blinked. Toph was still there.

They were clearly loathing the experience and looking for somewhere to get away from the public eye. "Toph!" Azula said loudly enough for them to hear. 

Toph frowned, turning in Azula's general direction. "Zappy?"

Azula rolled her eyes, motioning for them to come over. Oh yeah, they couldn't see them. "Over here."

Toph walked over. "Nice seeing you around here." They joked, but Azula could tell that they were self-conscious. It was obvious. Their hair seemed... fancier. The clothes were the most un-Toph-like thing they had ever seen, and Azula had only known them for a day if that.

Azula frowned. "Why are you wearing... _that_." That didn't make Toph feel better. They frowned. Azula noted that. Why did Azula have to suck at social skills? Ozai was right, she was a bad person.

"My... parents. They don't know about..." Toph gestured to themselves. "Me." Azula hummed. 

"I get that," Azula said. "They wouldn't understand even if you tried..." Azula paused. The slow realization dawned on her. The fancy clothes, the hair. The mask was so ever perfectly worn. "You're rich." She stated.

Toph frowned. "How the fuck did you figure that out?"

Azula shrugged. "Because..." Because she knew the signs. Because she could relate to the feelings Toph had. Because Azula was in that very same situation. "Because I get what it's like to be rich. To have your parents not care about you but rather the image you display."

Toph was quiet. "Wow, Zappy. You got a lot goin' on." They joked. Azula smiled bitterly. If only they knew.

"Yeah. Did you bring another set of clothes? You can change in the room I booked." Azula offered. "I don't think that either of us can do anything while you're in that dress. You look like you're suffocating."

Toph grimaced. "Yep. Give me a minute or two."

-

Azula sat with her back on the door, making sure no one would barge in. Azula turned to Zuko. He was looking at her. "What do you want?" She hissed. There was no one else except her. His hair was longer today, tied in a low ponytail. He didn't need to be there every day in her life. She was older than him now, despite his appearance being that of a 16-year-old. She didn't need his protection anymore. She thinks.

It's been so long since Zuko was alive. It's been so long since she saw his door when it was ajar. Ozai's hand crushing her wrist as he dragged her. How she looked inside the room. She smelled...

She pushed it away. Zuko was weak. Azula didn't need him. She wanted him back in her life, but she didn't _need_ him. All she needed was her fire and the place she needed to reach, then she would be okay.

She would have to be.

Toph knocked on the door. "Hey, Zappy, can you use your fire fingers to burn that?"

Azula rolled her eyes and opened the door. "Are you sure?"

Toph sighed. "No." They were closed-off, annoyed, and tense.

Azula frowned. "Are you okay?"

Toph groaned. "It's just... gender stuff. I don't like how... girly they always make me. I get that I haven't told them so I can't blame them, but that doesn't mean I can't be bitter about it." Azula hummed, letting Toph go on. "Like, there's nothing wrong with being girly, you do you, but I can't see. I can't tell what I look like or what other people look at. I don't want to, I don't know, overcompensate but I've figured that the stuff that my parents dress me in isn't what I want to look like."

Azula nodded in agreement. "My appearance has been something that my father degraded me before for."

"That's the thing! I usually don't care what I look like!" Something dawned on Toph's face. "Oh."

Azula tilted her head. "Oh?" She repeated.

Toph seemed... odd. Azula couldn't describe it. Toph didn't look like they felt bad, but rather that they realized something. Enlightenment. That was what it was. "I don't care about what I look like, I care about what people call me."

Azula mulled over her question. "How did you know?"

Toph pondered. "Well, I didn't always know. Some people do but I didn't. It's more of a feeling. I saw how people treated me as a girl, and that didn't feel right. For a while I actually thought I might have been a boy but that never clicked either. It's not that I think girls are weak. That would just be wrong, but I just... know."

Azula quieted. Something in that speech resonated with her. Something began turning in her head, but that wasn't what was on her mind. "My... my brother was like that."

Toph's eyebrows raised. "What do you mean?"

Azula flicked her eyes to Zuko, who was standing in the corner of the room. Azula spoke slowly as if she was figuring it out herself. "He wasn't born as my brother, but he was a boy for almost as long as I can remember." Zuko straightened in almost surprise. "My... father, he didn't call him my brother unless I had done something good. I guess I thought he was the only one."

Toph smiled. "Cool."

Azula remembered something. "Before I forget to tell you, can you not tell anyone about my actual identity? I don't want my father's associates to find me." Azula said. Toph shrugged.

"Sure. As long as you don't rat me out either. I can kick your ass." Toph punched Azula's shoulder to drive the point home.

Azula rolled her eyes. "As if I won't win."

Toph grinned. "The ring is open for sparring. Let's find out, Zappy."

"You're on!"

-

The few people who were at the ring immediately took attention to Toph and Azula facing off.

Azula put her arms up in a fighting stance while Toph did the same. There was a pause that hung in the air, thick with tension.

Then, there was chaos.

Azula dove to the side, sending twin blasts of fire at Toph, who in turn put up a wall to keep them from hitting her. Interesting.

Toph sent those walls at her, Azula ran up onto one, sending a blast of blue fire from her hands to keep it suspended, then pushed off of it, launching herself backwards and launching the wall towards Toph. Risky, but it paid off, getting her some time to steady herself with blasts of flames from her hands. Azula propelled herself with jets of blue fire towards Toph while they were distracted by the rock, and began the close-contact sparring

Toph smiled. "Smart, Zappy!" They set a rock up at Azula, who ducked under it. Azula sent fire from her elbow (a technique that, though quite a niche and difficult thing to learn, was very useful in fights like these), giving her the momentum to swing back with her fist that was wreathed in fire. Toph sent up a wall to protect themselves.

"I could say the same for you," Azula said. Toph was backing up, but Azula wasn't fooled. Toph still had tricks up their sleeve. Toph bent the earth beneath Azula's feet, launching her up.

Smart, Toph. Smart. Azula steadied herself in the air, jets of fire from her feet breaking her fall, as Toph sent a barrage of smaller rocks towards her at high speeds. Obviously, they were trying to get Azula to focus on those so she couldn't attack properly. Azula smiled. This was getting fun. Azula prepared a-

_FWEEE!!!_

There was a loud whistling noise that shattered both Azula and Toph's concentration. Toph dropped the rocks in favour of covering their ears. Azula froze in shock. There was a moment of confusion before they both regained their senses.

Azula and Toph turned to the source of the noise. "Hey! What gives?" Toph asked.

Xin Fu stood there with his arms crossed. "I'd rather you not destroy my arena before the contestants arrive. Do whatever you want after, but not before." Xin Fu demanded. Azula rolled her eyes.

"Fine." Azula turned to Toph and bowed. "Good game."

Toph inclined their head politely. "I'll enjoy facing you in the final."

"So will I." Azula responded.

Xin Fu gulped.

-

"Contestants!" Xin Fu shouted. "I have unfortunate news. We're revamping the contest scene." There were confused murmurs. "Instead of going a classic 'king of the hill' style as we do, we realized that it would be much more entertaining for both our audience," at this, he paused and let the cheers of the crowd shake the stadium. "And for our contestants, to do a knockout style tournament!" Some members of the crowd cheered. Some contestants clapped. Azula raised a brow. "It will be a longer tournament, but with that comes a bigger prize." At this, Azula perked up. More money. That was always useful in these times. It felt strange to need something, but Azula would be earning it.

"How's this work?" Someone yelled from the competitor's group. Azula realized that this was the person she stopped in the alleyway, she believed he called himself 'The Pebble'. Ah. Interesting.

Xin Fu grinned. "Excellent question. Pairs that _I_ set up will fight. Winner advances, loser is eliminated. Then-"

"Isn't that what we're doing now?" Fire Nation Man said. Agni, Azula hated his guts. How he even managed to stay in the competition was beyond her understanding.

Xin Fu narrowed his eyes at him. "No. Because there are multiple pairs going on. Winners of those matches face off against each other. The winners of _those_ matches face-off until we're at the top. _Everyone_ fights." Before any more questions could be posed, Xin Fu sighed. "And since I know you all are fucking idiots, I made a chart."

It was a wide triangle diagram with flat square rocks representing each person, everyone was at the bottom of the triangle. On each plaque, there was a small image to represent each person. On one there was a crude drawing of someone clearly meant to represent Toph. On another, there was a lightning bolt. She smiled with pride. That was obviously hers.

Toph elbowed Azula. "What's he showing?"

Oh yeah, Toph was blind. "It's a triangle diagram. There are plaques representing each person, but they're all at the bottom." Azula summarized. Toph nodded.

"Ah. Who's paired first?"

She peered. It would probably be the one that was circled. She didn't recognize the people. There were a lot of people here, and that meant a lot of pairings. She was going to be here for a while.

"There's a water tribe symbol with some sort of plant on it for one." Azula described. Toph nodded.

"Yeah, that'd be Cattail." They explained. Azula assumed Cattail was a waterbender.

Azula squinted. "The other one is some sort of fire snake." The design had a snake rising from a stylized flame.

"Fire-Snake," Toph explained. Azula scanned the crowd. There was a firebender with a snake tattoo.

Azula drew her brows together, then sighed dramatically. "They sure are creative with names here." She commented sarcastically.

Toph laughed. "This is about as good as it gets. Unless you have your own, homegrown, cool nickname, they give you an on-the-nose lame one."

Azula sighed. "Something tells me they named me Blue Fire or Blue Lightning."

Toph hissed in sympathy. "Yeah, probably."

-

Out of Cattail and Fire Snake, Cattail was the victor. Azula had never fought a waterbender before, she hoped that she would get an opportunity to fight them. To her surprise, the next pairing included Toph. Well, the Blind Bandit.

Toph cracked their knuckles. "Ready to get this over with, shitstain?"

Their opponent, one of the firebenders, frowned. "Oh, I can't wait to beat you up, punk kid."

Toph laughed. "What are you gonna do, Fire Fool?"

Fire Fool(?)'s fists lit orange. "It's Fire Fan and you know it-"

"3, 2, 1, fight!"

Fire Fan made, unsurprisingly, fans of fire on his fingers. Azula was unimpressed. What Azula was impressed by, though, was Toph's fighting style. At first glance, Toph seemed to be attacking immediately, but they never made the first strike. They waited for just a split second. It wasn't hesitation, it was deliberate planning. It dawned on Azula. Toph was listening to their moves. They couldn't see, so they waited for their opponent to make a move so Toph could get the upper hand.

Amazing.

Fire Fan was defeated in only a few seconds. What a surprise. 

Toph brushed off their hands. "Well! That was fun!" Toph smiled.

Azula grinned. "That's what he gets for being named by Xin Fu."

Toph burst out laughing. Azula frowned. The joke wasn't _that_ funny. Toph finally stopped laughing enough to speak. "He chose his own name!"

Azula was so looking forward to bullying Fire Fool.

-

After an agonizing few days (there were a lot of contestants), Azula's first match was with one of the firebenders. Ha. Xin Fu thought that she wasn't suited to fight against... if she remembered correctly, this was the Inferno. (Wow. They really _were_ uncreative with names.) Xin Fu was wrong. Fortunately, she had time to prepare, with a match between two Earthbenders. One of them, the man who she threatened in the alleyway, was apparently called the Boulder.

Azula was closer to the chart now and could read the tiny lettering next to the symbol. It was just _Blue_. Wow. The creativity. The nuance. Amazing. Azula groaned. Toph was suddenly there. "What's up, Zappy?"

Azula looked up. "The ceiling."

Toph grimaced. "You need to learn slang. It's basically what's got you in a tizzy."

Azula frowned. "They gave me a lame name. It's just 'Blue'."

Toph furrowed their brows in confusion. "The fuck's a blue?"

Azula blinked. Toph was so capable that Azula often forgot that they were blind. Toph was amazing in that way, they were able to do everything that a sighted person could- and better than them at that. Azula hm'd.

"Blue is a colour. It's hard to explain but I'll try. Bright blue is the colour of the lightning I shot. Blue is like the ocean, I don't know if you've been there but I spent years at sea. It's vast, dark, and deep. It's calm but not usually quiet. That's dark blue. Blue is the sky." Azula tried to explain. Toph was quiet.

"Thanks." They murmured. That moment was gone in the blink of an eye, Toph cracked a smile. "So, Zappy. Ready for your first match?"

Azula grinned. "Bet on it."

-

Azula had often sparred with the sailors on her ship. Well, as often as one could say. At most once a week. Most of them were firebenders anyway, so Azula had quickly bested them. The last time she sparred was with Aozora, but she was a nonbender. It stung bittersweet at the thought of Aozora, but Azula ignored it. Right now, she had a firebender to fight.

Azula bent into a fighting stance. Inferno, who had previously been silent, narrowed his eyes.

"You might think you're tough with your 'lightning', but you're just a _kid_." He taunted, but Azula could see the nervousness hidden behind the confidence. He was going to be a treat. She had seen him before in the crowd, he was over-confident. Clearly thought 'fake it til you make it' except actual talent and skill were needed in these types of competitions. He could be read like a picture-scroll. Let him have the upper hand then defeat him in one fell swoop.

Azula only gave him a knowing look. "We'll see."

"3, 2, 1, fight!"

Azula took the defensive, letting Inferno tire himself out with onslaughts of low-heat fire blasts. He was trying, yes, but with the way that he was bending, there was a lot of fire and smoke, but no real danger. This would have worked on someone who was impulsive, except Azula was anything but.

He had a victory smile on his face as he gained about a foot of ground. This was where Azula would take her blows. She immediately switched from defence to offence, pushing him back with a wave of blue fire. Inferno yelped, caught off guard.

It was embarrassingly easy to push Inferno out of the ring.

-

It was painfully boring. The first round of competition had taken up 4 days so far, and there were still quite a few people left to go. 32 people- and yes, Azula counted- were there. 16 pairs. They were only able to do a few pairs at a time due to how long most of the rounds actually took. Due to the, ya know, _underground_ nature of the competition, there wasn't a long frame of time for them to fight.

Literally the most interesting thing that had happened was that Azula’s hair was finally long enough to put in a short ponytail at the back of her head.

Toph was sitting next to Azula, quiet. Azula knew how Toph hated just being _there_.

"Want to leave?" Azula didn't realize the words had left her mouth. She didn't even know where they came from. Even Zuko seemed surprised.

Toph smiled. "Sure. Let's blow this popsicle stand."

Azula was confused. "What?"

Toph stood up, taking Azula's hand. "I really need to teach you slang, don't I?"

-

In the dark of the passage, Azula was thankful that Toph couldn’t see Azula’s blush.

-

(It was only after many, many weeks that Azula realized that Toph wouldn’t have been able to see Azula’s blush anyway. Embarrassing.)

-

Azula looked at the sky. Toph was still holding her hand. "Is there anything you want to do?" She asked. Toph shrugged.

"I don't know, you were the one that invited me."

Azula paused. "I've never really had friends before." That was true. Mei and Ty Lee were wonderful, but Mei had always been more withdrawn while Ty Lee came up with ideas. Ty Lee was always more vibrant than Azula. Where Azula was dull all around, Ty Lee seemed to experience everything in full, every spectrum of emotion highlighted equally. Contrary to what most would think, Ty Lee wasn't always a ray of sunshine. She had sadness, anger, and jealousy all the same, and it was clear if you knew where to look. Azula pushed away the thoughts of Ty Lee (but something about the feelings she felt for Ty Lee seemed to align with the ones Azula thought about Toph).

Toph grimaced. "Same boat."

Azula got an idea. "What if you show me around Gaoling?"

Toph smiled. "Only if I get to waste my parent's money too." At Azula's quickened heartbeat, Toph held Azula's hand tighter. "Don't worry, they're filthy rich. They won't care, probably won't even notice."

Azula sighed. "If you say so."

Toph began walking in a direction down the street. "There's this restaurant that has some great food, they’re open late."

The street lanterns had flickered on, and it felt strangely intimate to be walking with Toph along the streets of Gaoling. Toph was talking about something, walking with exaggerated steps. It was like they trusted Azula.

It felt nice to be trusted in.

Azula couldn’t care less about what Toph was saying, all Azula could see was their face. They were talking with a smile, going on about people and places. Toph’s hand felt nice in Azula’s. 

Toph stopped in front of a building. Azula couldn’t really tell the difference between the buildings, the only reason Azula was able to tell which building was the inn was because of the sign in the front. Toph walked in. Azula hesitated. “Are you sure?” Paranoia was creeping in on the edges. This had happened before, Azula didn’t trust food much because of it. Not useful for going to a restaurant.

Toph sighed. “I’m sure, I’ve been here lots before. You’ll love it.” Azula debated it in her head. Finally, she walked into the restaurant.

The first thing that Azula noticed was the smells. It was almost similar to the smells of her childhood, fish and rice and spices.

The second thing that Azula noticed was that it was sushi. The last time that Azula had cried was when Aozora wished her a happy birthday, but Azula was coming quite close to it right now. It was her childhood, nostalgia and memories flooded her senses. It was being prepared in front of them. It wasn't exactly like the high-quality fish that had been fed to her in the palace but after years of eating nonperishables on ships, the sushi felt like a dream come true.

Azula held back her happy tears in favour of looking for a table. "Toph," Azula said, at a loss for words. Toph had a sly smile on her face.

"Hey, Zappy, least I could do. I know they have Fire Nation style sushi, but Earth Kingdom sushi is superior." Toph gloated. Azula rolled her eyes.

"You find a table," Azula said just as she did, she realized that Toph couldn't see. Fuck. "Never mind, I will."

Azula couldn't see Toph's face but could tell that they were smiling. "Wow, for someone who can shoot lightning, you sure are forgetful."

Azula rounded on Toph. "What does lightningbending have to do with my memory?"

Toph shrugged. "I don't know, that sounded better in my head."

Azula turned back to the tables. There was a table for two close to the wall. It was secluded and unoccupied. Something that surprised many people was that Azula hated people. Crowds and groups never agreed with her. It was strange, Azula was able to maneuver through crowds with ease, ignoring people was easy but ignoring a crowd while having a conversation with someone was a near-impossible feat. Toph didn't seem to mind, so Azula sat them down.

A waiter came over. "Toph, I thought you'd come over today. What can I get you?" The waiter asked. Toph shrugged.

"I'll take my usual." They said.

"And what can I get you, sir?" The waiter turned to Azula. Azula blushed. It was a strange feeling, Azula was used to hiding things so they tried to play it off. It was hard to, though, because it made Azula feel nice. Not in the way that Azula was being called a male term, but rather that it wasn't a female one. _Oh_.

Azula would have to unpack that later.

"I haven't been here before, what do you recommend?" Azula said in the most androgynous voice she (they? he?) could.

"The pickled spiced fish with rice is something that those from the seas often enjoy. Would you like that, sir?" There was that word again. It sent a fluttering through Azula's chest. Azula mentally tried out he and him. It sent something curling unpleasantly. Strange. No other pronoun really affected them like that.

"Sure." Azula said voice clipped with all the thoughts running through her (their?) head.

The waiter smiled. "Excellent, I'll get both your orders started. Toph, don't be too mean to your date."

Azula flushed. "We're not-" She began loudly then stopped. "We're not dating." This was when the strangest thought entered Azula's head. Girls. Girls could date girls. Girls could kiss girls.

Azula really needed to get a handle on all these revelations.

After the waiter wasn't in earshot, Toph turned to Azula. "Do you want me to correct him?" Azula pondered.

"I don't know," Azula said, and Toph dropped the subject and let the conversation flow as normal. Azula kept her eye on the people preparing the sushi, memorized by the skill. Because they had both ordered something relatively simple, it didn't take too long for them to be served. The waiter returned with two plates with their meals and two small cups, presumably filled with soy sauce.

"Enjoy your meal, sir. You too, Toph." The waiter smiled politely before going to serve the other tables.

Azula found that she (they?) really enjoyed being called sir.

Azula turned to her meal.

The sushi was different from Fire Nation sushi. Fire Nation sushi usually boasted spicy sauces and seaweed wraps, but Earth Kingdom sushi was nice too. The dried seaweed was placed on top of the rice bowl like a shell. Interesting. The fish wasn't wrapped in anything, instead being plain with the exception of being on a bed of something. Probably the stuff it had been pickled with. The fish itself was white, with red accents on the edges. The cuts looked better than the ones from the ship. On the sides were pickled ginger (Azula had missed the earthy taste of imported ginger when she was out at sea), and some leaves that looked to be mint.

Azula tried the fish. "Woah." She couldn't help but say.

"I know, awesome, right?" Toph smiled, already digging into their own sushi. "If you think this is good, you should try their kimchi." Toph continued eating. It felt quiet, intimate, despite being in a crowded restaurant.

Azula took some fish and dipped it into the soy sauce. "How did you even find this place?" She asked. Toph brightened.

"So it started when I was running from the cops..."

-

The competition was expected to last about four weeks. Azula could live with that. Unfortunately, that resulted in lots of waiting. Azula's second round was as unforgettable as the first. Toph seemed to share this sentiment, so they just smack talked about the other competitors.

During that time, Azula played with the idea of not being a girl. If they weren't a girl, then they were probably on the more girly scale of things.

Then again, the idea of presenting more masculinely was appealing. Toph had told Azula that the things you wore didn't always correlate to your gender. Gender was stupid, but it was something that Azula was dying to understand about themselves. It wasn't that Azula _needed_ to be masculine (being masculine was usually associated with being powerful, but Azula was plenty powerful while still being feminine). Being feminine didn't bother Azula, neither did being masculine.

If Azula were still living with Ozai, she doubted that she would present as masculinely. A smile. Azula was free. She didn't need to follow Ozai's rules. Still, she doubted she'd stand up to him.

Maybe someday Azula would have the courage to be unashamedly who they were.

-

Azula and Toph were in Azula's room. Toph was laying on the bed while Azula sat on the window ledge. It was all made of earthbending, and the window ledge at least served as a semi-comfortable chair. The sun was on Azula's face. It felt nice.

"I think I'm like you," Azula admitted. They flitted their eyes to Toph to see their reaction.

Toph tilted their head. "Like me how? An earthbender?" They joked. Azula huffed, the corners of her mouth tugged into a small smile.

"Like I'm not a girl or a boy."

Toph was slightly surprised but shrugged. "Cool. Do you have pronouns?"

Azula's brows furrowed. "Most people have pronouns? If you're asking what they are, I think that she and her are fine, but I'd like to use they and them too."

Toph smirked. "Epic, you collect those pronouns."

Azula fidgeted with their hands. "Can you call me Lee just in a sentence? I want to see how it sounds." Azula (Lee?) asked.

"Sure, Lee," Toph said. It felt different. Azula (Lee???) wasn't sure if they liked it or not. "You're a great friend, Lee. Lee's a great firebender, I heard they can bend lightning." Toph said. The words rolled around in their head. It felt different, but it didn't click. It was different but it wasn't quite right.

"Thanks, Toph. I think that Azula is my name. Lee just doesn't work for me." Azula admitted.

"No problem." Toph said nonchalantly. The casual acceptance was freeing.

There was a moment of comfortable silence. A weight felt like it had fallen off of Azula's chest. Like they were walking around with it their whole life, but only now had the burden been relieved. Azula liked it.

"You want to spar?" Azula and Toph said at the same. Azula laughed. Toph snorted.

"C'mon, Zappy. We both know that I'm going to win."

Azula fixed their gaze on Toph with a smirk. "I'm pretty sure you won't."

-

Azula barely remembered her third round. Some earthbender who thought he could 'figure her out'. It now dawned upon Azula that she was going to the semi-finals. Her semi-final partner was either going to be another earthbender (some rando named Ground Ripper (for how he made an absolute mess of the ring)) or Cattail, the waterbender from one of the earlier rounds.

Toph was sitting on a chair they made themselves. "So, who's winning?" They asked. Azula squinted.

"I can't really tell. Ground Ripper is making a mess, though." It was true, Azula was getting dust in her eyes all the way from the edges of the ring.

Toph hummed in agreement, scratching at their nose. "He does that. I had to fight him once, felt so bad for the cleaners that I put everything back in place." Toph sneezed. "I hate him."

Azula opened her mouth to answer, but instead, a sneeze came out. "I do too."

Toph smiled widely. "Awww, that's your sneeze? It's so cute." Azula frowned and ignored the myriad of feelings that came up at the word 'cute'.

"Shut up." She snapped with no real heat behind it. This would have been a significantly better threat if she hadn't sneezed immediately after saying it.

-

Azula was pleasantly surprised that Cattail won. (Quite ingenious actually, Cattail used their opponent's rocks that had been laid scattered. Using the opponent's weapons against them, respectable.) It was pretty predictable that Azula and Toph wouldn't face off until the final round. The Boulder definitely would win his match, Azula almost felt bad for the kid facing him. Almost.

Cattail was strange. In an interesting way. They were a waterbender, but they definitely weren't from the poles. Azula had met a few waterbenders before (the term met could be used very closely), and they had a distinct culture. Cattail had thick hair tied into a ponytail at the back of their head. Most of the waterbenders Azula had seen wore braids, something about symbolism. Cattail wore dark green robes. It was nothing like Azula had seen before. It seemed to be a rectangular fabric that had been wrapped in such a way to only cover their left shoulder, their chest, and about half of their left arm. The other shoulder had a wooden shoulder pad.

Strange.

"Blue." Cattail greeted. "So, yer the new shebang aren't ya?" Cattail raked their eyes over Azula's form, sizing her up.

Azula narrowed their eyes at Cattail. "What are your pronouns, I want to insult you."

Cattail barked a laugh. "She/her. You?"

Azula rolled their eyes. "She and they." That was an easier way of saying it. Cattail raised a brow.

"You ain't like any firebender tha' I seen." She commented. Interesting accent. Azula noticed that she wore makeup. There was dark makeup around her eyes, making her skin seem paler in comparison and their brown eyes even more striking. Effective. "Blue." They added.

"You aren't like any waterbender I've seen." Azula snarked back. Cattail laughed.

"I'm from the swamps if ya really wan'ta know." Cattail stated. Ah, that was a nice explanation.

Azula shrugged. "I didn't want to, but go on I guess."

"You seem a good fighter, Blue, I hate ta win." Cattail smiled

Azula shrugged. "We'll see." She said cryptically. "Because I never lose."

-

Azula looked in the mirror, and for once they didn't hate what they saw. Their hair had grown out quite a bit, and it was now able to be put in a ponytail that wasn't constantly coming loose. Azula tried for a smile. Something still weighed heavy on her shoulders but it wasn't like before. It was as close a taste of freedom as she had ever had.

Her mind drifted to Ozai. He would have hated her. He hated her. She shook away the thoughts like butterfly-bees. They were sharp and beautiful, but the purpose they served wasn't relevant right now. Azula took a breath.

She was ready.

-

Azula stepped into the ring.

She noticed that in each corner of the ring, right beside the lamps were buckets of water. Smart. Cattail had a flask on her hip as well.

Azula rolled her shoulders. "Ready to be defeated?" She asked, quirking a brow. Cattail rolled her eyes.

"As if."

"3, 2, 1, fight!"

Azula had never fought a waterbender before, and it was fascinating to see the movements in how Cattail moved. Azula didn't have much time to do this, though, as Cattail was, ya know, attacking her. Azula dodged a wave that was sent at her. It was different from fighting earthbenders because that at least gave her more surface to gain advantages.

She sent a barrage of blue fire blasts at Cattail, attempting to put her on the defensive. In retaliation, Cattail coated herself in water. Fuck. Azula smiled. This wasn't a hindrance. Azula began to create whips of fire, circling them around her head. Cattail did something similar but with water, and it suddenly sprang forward. Azula went on the offence, forcing Cattail to defend herself. Azula had noted that Cattail didn't hold back and wasn't afraid to cause injury in their fights. It wasn't a flaw, this was what Azula came here for, only something for Azula to keep into consideration.

Firebending wasn't good for defence, but as highly skilled strategists such as herself knew, the best offence is the best defence.

The good thing about fighting waterbenders was that Cattail had a limited amount of water, but Azula had all the fire she needed. She could see that with each blow, water was being evaporated and lost as Cattail started to back up. Azula smiled.

Azula suddenly stopped and shot a large blast of fire at Cattail. Cattail propelled herself up with water, narrowly avoiding the brunt force. Cattail made circular motions with her arms, almost like she was swimming. That caused sharp disks of water to be shot at her. Azula dodged them, and before Cattail could react, she used her feet to knock Cattail to the ground, creating an arc of fire between them.

Cattail fell with a cry. Azula decided that now would be a good time to use her lightning. The swirling motions of her arms brought comfort and victory. She shot the lightning, cascading in a spectacle of light. That would have been enough to knock her out of the ring and secure her place in the finals.

**Z-ZAP!**

The lightning didn't hit its target.

Fuck.

In front of Cattail was a swirling ball of water, clearly meant to cushion the blow of Azula's attack. Instead of being partially evaporated by the fire that Cattail was expecting, it had caught lightning.

Azula stared. "Fuck." She stated.

Cattail stared at the ball of electrified water. "Wow. Be'er call me Lightning Catcher now." For a moment there was high tension. Cattail stared at the water. The only sounds were Azula's raggedy exhales. The crowd waited with bated breath.

Cattail sent the water straight at Azula.

For a moment it was like the world was in slow motion. Azula's thoughts were racing, what could she do? It was too fast to dodge, and there wasn't anything Azula could use as a shield.

An idea came into her head. A very stupid idea.

But the more that Azula thought about it, the more sense it made. Azula had never worked at such a scale before, but it was the only real option they had.

Azula had to evaporate the water. All of it.

It would have to be hot enough to evaporate on impact. Her blue fire was hot, that was undeniable. But would it be enough to evaporate it?

Well. You know what they say: if you have a lot of fire and some water to evaporate, you're going to need more fire. Just kidding, Azula had just made up that phrase to fit this situation. Fuck it.

This mental exchange had only taken a few seconds, but Azula knew exactly what they had to do. They raised their hands as quickly as they could, and _burned_.

It felt like Azula was standing in a campfire (fun fact, she actually had done that before, except it was when she was young and testing her fire resistance. Mother was not pleased), except Azula was the wood. She felt smoke and steam all around her. She hated the smell of smoke.

Azula felt shocks across her body, but Azula wasn't sure if it was the adrenaline or the lightning that hit her or the aftershocks of the lightning she sent. She heard gasps. Her tongue felt heavy like she had swallowed a mouthful of dirt. Come to think of it, she probably did once she hit the ground because of the backblast of her fire.

Azula didn't even realize that their eyes were closed until they opened them. Azula was unharmed. There was steam in the air. There was no water. Cattail was standing near the edge of the ring, shocked into letting her defences down.

Azula sent a blast of fire at Cattail.

Cattail lost her footing and fell backwards out of the ring, barely catching herself as she fell on her ass.

Azula snorted.

-

Cattail met up with Azula after they both had rested. By that point, Toph had already defeated the Boulder. "Not too bad, rookie." They stood next to Azula, watching the badgermoles clean up the mess that the previous fight had left behind.

Azula shrugged. "I could say the same to you." She said this with nonchalance but had a victorious smirk on their face.

Cattail turned her head to Azula and smiled. "I do hav'ta thank you, tho'. You got me a cooler nickname: Electric Eel."

Azula rolled the name around in her head. Not too bad. "Why did they call you Cattail in the first place?" Azula asked now that the question arose. Everyone else had a hyper-specific name that correlated to an event or something blatantly obvious about them. Cattail was a nice name, but it wasn't a fighting name.

"Oh, Cattail's my actual name." Cattail explained.

Azula blinked. "Okay."

Toph walked over. "Nice round, Cattail." They punched Cattail in the shoulder. "Xin Fu explained how you caught the lightning. His narration sucks _ass_!" Toph groaned.

Azula realized something. "You and I are in the finals." After this, Azula didn't have to stay- couldn't stay. They would have to leave for Ba Sing Se, it was too dangerous to stay, especially after they had made a name for themselves.

Toph paused, something flashing behind their eyes. They covered it up with a smile. "Better hope so! Be prepared to get your ass kicked!"

Azula rolled her eyes. "Bold of you to assume that I won't win. I'm the best firebender there is."

Toph cracked their knuckles. "Well, I'm the greatest earthbender in the world, so you better step up for the competition."

Cattail sighed. "And _this_ is why I didn't wanna be in the finals."

-

Azula always knew it was going to be the two of them. They were the most skilled, the ones with the most strategy, the ones who always won.

It felt strange. Toph and Azula had something that Azula could honestly call a friendship. There was no previously established power dynamic, Azula wasn't the princess here, they were just... a person. Toph was the first friend that Azula ever had. That probably explained the funny feelings Azula felt whenever they were near Toph.

Still, they were now, technically, opponents.

They had sparred before, Azula had won some rounds, so had Toph. Azula never really thought of it as losing when they didn't win against Toph. That was one of the strange things about them. But now, they weren't Toph and Azula, two people that could be called friends, they were Blue and the Blind Bandit, the two most terrifying fighters that the world had ever seen. Even though only one of them could see. Hm, Toph would like that one.

She took a breath. She had meditated for an hour before this, inner fire a weapon perfectly honed. She exhaled.

Azula stepped into the ring.

Toph stretched their arms, then cracked their neck. "Ready to get pulverized, Zappy?"

Azula fixed Toph with a smirk. "You'll be shocked when..." Azula's mind blanked. "Fuck, that didn't work." 

Toph barked a laugh. Azula could get lost in that sound.

"3, 2, 1, fight!"

Toph and Azula began to circle each other. Azula wasn't going to break out the lightning until later, but Toph knew that. Toph wasn't going to make the first move, and Azula knew this.

They had done this before, but this felt more important. More real.

Azula got herself in position, gathering momentum as she used her feet to send a blast of fire at Toph.

Toph sent up an angled column of earth, attempting to hit Azula as she dodged each column. Exactly what Azula needed. She climbed onto them, running between them as Toph sent rocks at her. The ones that Azula couldn't dodge, she blasted away with firebending. Some still hit her, though, not more than grazes but that was too close for comfort. Fuck. Just when Toph missed, Azula launched off the column, keeping her right foot in front of her as she mirrored her first move.

Toph threw up a wall. Azula quickly rearranged her position, stopping her path with jets of fire from her hands. Azula would rather not break their foot, thank you very much. Unfortunately, Azula still hit the ground harder than they would have liked. They steadied themselves, it was never good to stay down. Toph put down the wall, taking the offensive. Azula grew determined. She lept forward. Toph was at a disadvantage in close-combat. "Wow, Zappy, you're getting good!" Toph said, fending off Azula's attacks.

"I'm just getting started!" Azula quipped as she dodged a rock from Toph.

Azula kept her movements quick, first using daggers of fire to slash at Toph, sending them stepping backwards. Toph kept trying to raise the ground from under Azula, but Azula was too quick. Azula swung her arms, extinguishing the fire daggers and using the momentum to sweep a large burst of flame in front of her. Continuing the motion, Azula dropped to her back, sending wa

Toph sent them up, the rock column darting down as quickly as it sent her up. Azula was disoriented as they were unexpectedly in the air but then they got an idea. A possibly genius idea. Instead of letting herself, fall down, they kept themselves suspended in the air. Literal flight. Fucking take that, Ozai. Azula could literally fly with firebending. Now, the big question was if she could control herself in the air. Hovering without being able to steer was impressive but objectively useless.

Azula tried moving to the side.

She didn't fall.

Woah.

Azula hovered in the air, shocked that this was even working. She focused on keeping herself suspended, jets of fire coming from both her feet and hands. Toph couldn't find Azula. "Too scared to know I won, Zappy?" Toph gloated, finally put at ease. Everyone was either too confused or shocked to give Toph any clue where Azula was.

Azula took this as the opportunity to strike, propelling herself forward and sending a blast of fire at Toph.

Toph felt the heat, and only just was able to defend themselves. Azula smiled. She dropped onto one of the columns as gently as she stopped the firebending. They literally just learned how to fly (again, what the fuck), she wasn't going to push her luck. Toph turned around slowly, searching for Azula.

"Come out, come out wherever you are." Toph sing-songed. Azula slid down quietly. Just as Toph turned to Azula, Azula had already prepared her lightning. It buzzed at her fingers, and Azula guided it to her target. Realizing this, Toph pulled up a boulder, catching the brunt of the lightning as it tore apart their defence. Toph sent the boulder (well now it was more of a large rock) out.

Ah, shit.

The large rock was sent straight for her chest, Azula had no choice to defend herself. Firebending was not good at defence. She felt something move beneath her feet, the very ground she stood on became unstable as it sent her backwards.

Azula barely had time to register what happened.

For the first time ever, Azula found herself slammed against the wall of the arena. Azula couldn't believe it.

Toph won.

Toph seemed equally as shocked at this.

Azula felt crushed. Except it was a fair fight. Azula had done something wrong. Except, no, Toph was literally the most powerful earthbender in the world. Azula was working on that, the self-hatred. Ignoring the fears that Ozai had instilled within her.

But this meant that Azula needed money still. Azula supposed that this would work. Her bags were already packed.

She was leaving tonight.

-

"Azula."

Azula turned, it was Toph. They were holding the sack of money. "Azula." They repeated. It sounded like a prayer.

"Toph. What are you doing here?" Azula asked.

Toph bit their lip in nervousness. Azula was confused, Toph had never been nervous before. "I know you're leaving." They stated, then inhaled. "And I'm giving you the money. I don't need it, I don't want it." They stepped forward and put the sack in Azula's hand.

"Thank you." Azula knew Toph didn't want them to make a big deal out of it, but the earlier part of their sentence turned the gears in Azula's head. Azula paused. It was true. There was no change to her plan. There was nothing left but to leave. But... Azula almost didn't want to. "I know."

Toph looked down. Despite not seeing, they didn't want to meet Azula's gaze. For once, Azula couldn't read them. "I don't want you to leave." The sheer honesty of the statement made something catch in her throat.

Azula blinked rapidly. There was something stinging in her eyes. Maybe tears. She didn't let them fall. "Neither do I." She inhaled. "But I have to." An idea came into Azula's head. "We can go together. To Ba Sing Se."

Toph shook their head. "I can't leave. I don't like my parents, but... they're my parents. I'd feel bad if I left, even if they're kind of jerks. They've never been bad to me they just... leave me alone." They exhaled sharply. "I wish I could go with you. I want to but I can't."

"And I can't stay," Azula admitted. There was silence. Toph seemed nervous.

"Close your eyes, Zappy." They said quietly. "... please?" Azula's eyes fluttered shut immediately. Suddenly, they were hyperaware of every sound. The ground beneath her feet. The thumping of their heart in her ears. The sweat on their palms.

There was something soft on Azula's lips.

_Oh_.

It was like a million pieces of a broken puzzle all fell into place. Azula liked girls. Azula liked Toph. Romantically. It wasn't something meant to be, but it was real and it was raw. It was a single kiss. It was Toph. It was goodbye.

Azula kissed back ever so gently.

They pulled away. Azula felt sad. Not like the angry helplessness they felt around Ozai, not like the wallowing pit that threatened to swallow them whole when they were alone, not like the resigned acceptance of the life they had. It was sorrow. It was every memory Azula had of Toph. It was bittersweet in the sense that Azula knew it had to end. That Azula wouldn't have it again.

"So," Toph said. "This is goodbye."

"It is." Azula paused. She took her tile, the one that was engraved with the lightning bolt. "Keep this." Azula felt desperation underneath her words. "So you won't forget me."

Toph wiped at their eyes. "Only if you keep mine, sap. I'll miss you, Zappy." They handed their tile with that stupid drawing on it. Azula smiled at the bad drawing of Toph. It was beautiful.

"I'll miss you too." For a lifetime of lies, Azula felt that this was the truth. "I'll see you again, I promise."

"You better," Toph said, punching Azula's arm.

Azula turned. She had to walk away now, or she never would be able to. Azula needed to get to Ba Sing Se. They turned their back on Toph.

Azula looked back.

-

Toph thought of Azula from time to time, but true to their word, they never talked about Azula's true identity. They still prepared for the Earth Rumble. Just to get their mind off of Azula.

Some idiot decided to challenge them. Their footsteps were light but almost confident. Ah, someone who thinks that they're somehow more powerful than the greatest earthbender in the world.

Toph grinned. "You should know that I fought a lightning bender and _won_ , you ain't shit, twinkle toes." They were suddenly thoughtful. "Ha! Twinkle Toes. Prepared to get your ass beat!"

Twinkle Toes was nervous. "I just want to talk! Wait, lightning?"

Toph launched Twinkle Toes out of the ring. Almost. 

Twinkle Toes wasn't out of the ring. Azula had done this same trick with the fire jets, Toph learned not to be as cocky this time. Toph waited and listened for the vibrations. Luckily, the fool gave himself away by talking. "Can I-"

"Gotcha." Toph launched a rock at him at the front, and while he was reacting to that, they bent the earth under Twinkle Toes's feet, efficiently launching him out of the ring. It brought them back to Azula. Ugh. They experience romantic attraction _one_ time and then they still had the lingering feelings. In all honesty, Toph knew that they couldn't get together and that a future together just wasn't in the cards. 

There was a shout of 'what the fuck' from the crowd. Toph sighed. They took the money and made their way down the stairs. Just as they were at their exit, a voice stopped them.

"Wait!"

Toph turned sharply around, recognizing those footsteps immediately. "What is it, I don't have time to deal with your shit."

"I need an earthbending teacher." Twinkle Toes said breathlessly. "I'm Aang, the Avatar."

Toph frowned. Avatar? Who was this kid, er, kidding? "Find anyone else-"

"Hi." Someone said. Toph's brow furrowed. Toph could almost swear that they had heard that voice before, it had an air of almost-familiarity. Their accent was formal, but not anything Toph had heard before. "I, uh, I don't know if you can see me but my name is Zuko- like the prince of the Fire Nation." Ah, that explained the accent.

Toph frowned. Authority. Gross. "I don't care. This is the Earth Kingdom."

Just as they turned around, another voice stepped in. "We've just come from Omashu, there's a full-scale rebellion from pro-war citizens. We barely defeated them. We need to defeat Ozai and his supporters before they can conquer Ba Sing Se. After that, they'll be almost unstoppable." Toph could hear the desperate edge in the new guy's voice.

Wait, did he say something about Ba Sing Se? Toph felt choked. Ba Sing Se was where Azula was. No. Toph wouldn't do this, they had a responsibility. They owed it to their parents. "No." They turned away and slammed the door.

Toph wasn't going to participate in this war. Not yet. Not now. This offer was too spontaneous. Too much quick thinking for Toph's taste. So they did what they did best.

They waited, and they listened.

**Author's Note:**

> well of fucking course I can't have a fic without at least _some_ Azula angst! Where else would I project?
> 
> You guys can't be mad at me for having badly-placed song references in my fanfiction. It's fanfiction. You're on ao3 looking at me, an unpublished author's, fanfic about avatar the last airbender. Grammarly is screaming at me because of the formatting.
> 
> Cattail's outfit is partially inspired by a picture I saw on google images and a roman palla. Cattail is aroace because fuck the aphobes
> 
> This is making me realize how bad I am at writing fight scenes
> 
> Ugh so during this I wrote some extra stuff, not too much, but I had two drafts open because *gestures to me*, and I opened my computer (I had saved one), and basically I accidentally saved an earlier version of this and now I'm angy.
> 
> Also I accidentally published it before I was done so if you noticed that, this is the reason why
> 
> uuuughhhhh i got rid of a really nice enby Azula section. gross.
> 
> I'm so bad at writing fight scenes. I took some inspiration from the final agni kai for Azula's moves in her final battle.


End file.
